There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 355

356. Restoration (2)

The Joseon court’s official stance on the Muin Purge [also known as the First Strife of Princes, a bloody coup in 1398] is clear:

‘Jeong Do-jeon and others plotted to eliminate the princes born to Queen Sineui, but Yi Bang-won struck first, slaughtering all the traitors.’

This means that killing them was justified, as they were treacherous villains who deceived Yi Seong-gye and tried to harm the royal family.

‘Well, considering that, their descendants have been doing well in officialdom.’

Even Jeong Jin, Jeong Do-jeon’s surviving son, had already been reinstated during Yi Bang-won’s reign, holding key positions such as Panhanseongbu-sa [Director of the Capital Affairs Department], Pyeongan Governor, Minister of Public Works, and Minister of Justice, living a comfortable life.

‘Just looking at this, it’s clear they weren’t branded as true traitors.’

If they had been, they would have been exterminated root and branch.

Even so, restoration was not a simple matter.

First of all, the Muin Purge was linked to Yi Bang-won’s legitimacy, and Jeong Do-jeon himself wasn’t particularly well-regarded by everyone.

Considering that Jeong Mong-ju [a loyal Goryeo official] clung to Goryeo until the very end and was quickly revered by scholars, one wonders how Jeong Do-jeon managed his public image during his lifetime.

‘So, everyone probably thought there was no need to take on the political burden of restoring his honor.’

On the other hand, the only reason I’m pushing for this is because of Yi Seong-gye’s request.

‘If it weren’t for that reason, I wouldn’t have gotten involved in such a troublesome issue.’

But now that I’ve committed to it, there’s no need to hesitate.

I immediately summoned Jeong Jin, who had retired due to old age after serving as a minister.

* * *

‘Restoration……!’

Unlike his father and brothers, Jeong Jin was by Yi Seong-gye’s side when the Muin Purge occurred, which allowed him to barely save his life.

Even so, with the regime already changed, he was in a precarious situation where one wrong step could send him to the afterlife. However, Yi Bang-won surprisingly did not turn his blade against him.

Instead, he was conscripted into the Jeolla Province navy as a form of punishment, but even then, Jo Jun and Kwon Geun, former colleagues of his father, helped him to be reinstated.

However, Jeong Jin, who had been living on thin ice as Jeong Do-jeon’s son ever since, couldn’t help but be suspicious when he heard the emperor’s words.

‘Is this a trap to get rid of me?’

But if the retired king wanted to eliminate him, he would have already caught and killed him that day decades ago.

Since he hadn’t posed any threat in the meantime, and the emperor’s power was stronger than ever, there was no reason to eliminate him using such a clumsy trick.

‘This is what Taejo the Great [King Yi Seong-gye’s posthumous name] asked me for in private, so do not doubt it.’

Jeong Jin knew how deep the emperor’s affection for Taejo was.

Only after hearing these words could Jeong Jin breathe a sigh of relief.

‘Your Majesty’s grace is boundless!’

Only then did Jeong Jin sincerely thank the emperor and prostrate himself.

There would be considerable backlash, but he had lived a long life and held enough positions.

The only thing he worried about was the safety of his descendants, but even that did not take precedence over restoring his father’s honor.

Although he had retired from his position, as soon as a person with Jeong Jin’s stature began to move behind the scenes, stories began to circulate quickly.

‘The crimes of those who were killed cannot be denied, but their contributions to the founding of the nation should be considered separately from the crimes of the Muin Purge…….’

‘Goodness, to bring up the deeds of traitors now. It seems they have nothing better to do.’

At first, the reactions were mostly negative, but in the rapidly changing era under the emperor, Jeong Do-jeon was already a figure of the past, for better or for worse.

‘Still, that guy was effective at suppressing Buddhism.’

‘He was a remarkable figure. I often read Bulssi Japbyeon [Jeong Do-jeon’s treatise criticizing Buddhism]. It seems like he made a lot of valid points, especially in these times when monks are running rampant.’

It was a natural progression for Confucian scholars, who were eager to suppress Buddhism as in the past, to reevaluate him.

From the strong anti-Buddhist sentiments that arose in response to the emperor’s policy of tolerance, there had already been a growing public opinion for his reevaluation.

‘Are you saying we should restore the honor of a traitor who tried to establish a concubine’s son as the heir to the throne?’

Those who opposed this brought up an unassailable point…….

‘Well…… speaking of which, we all know whose intention that was, don’t we?’

It’s a fact that everyone avoids discussing openly, but it was Yi Seong-gye who spearheaded the effort to promote the deposed Crown Prince Yi Bang-seok.

As the elderly Jeong Jin went around pleading for ‘merit to be evaluated as merit, and fault as fault,’ public opinion began to split about evenly.

* * *

Unlike his father, Jeong Jin’s reputation seemed to be quite good.

Therefore, even the officials couldn’t just say to their friend’s face, ‘Your father is a treacherous scumbag, why are you asking for his restoration?’

This network of connections played a part in weakening the opposition.

However, the censors are a different breed.

These guys were born as watchdogs, and even I had trouble dealing with them.

As soon as the motion for posthumous honors was brought to the court, the censors began to speak in unison as if they had been waiting for it.

‘There is a person who, as the descendant of a traitor, could not be executed along with his father, but received the utmost grace and held various high positions in the court, yet does not cease to seek the restoration of his father.

This implies that the late King’s actions in the Muin year were wrong, so how can this not be called a heinous intention?’

‘Even if it weren’t for the Muin Purge, Jeong Do-jeon was a man who lacked virtue compared to his talent. Is there really a need to restore his honor?’

To think that they would resort to such blunt criticism in front of a former minister who was much older and more experienced.

However, Jeong Jin could only fidget and stammer at the attacks from his much younger colleagues, as the matter was a sensitive one.

Instead, the colleagues Jeong Jin had won over stepped forward.

‘Your Majesty, this is not the descendant denying his father’s crimes, but rather a request to honor his contributions at the time of the founding of the nation. It is by no means a denial of the late King’s achievements, so I think it would be wise to consider it.’

The censors glared at them as well, but soon had to avert their eyes.

The old statesman Seong Seok-rin, who had attended the court after a long absence, was standing between them.

He was a man who had made remarkable contributions to the compilation of the Korean dictionary and the organization of grammar, and had now truly retired.

‘Honestly, there’s still a lot of work I could give him.’

I let him retire because I was afraid of being accused of working an old man to death, but I didn’t expect Jeong Jin to enlist his support as well.

As one of the few remaining founding meritorious subjects, even the censors could not dare to challenge him.

‘But is this old man still mentally sound?’

It wouldn’t be strange if his mind had become clouded due to his old age.

He was looking around with narrowed eyes without saying anything, which made me uneasy.

Seong Seok-rin’s gaze reached me as he looked around, and then he belatedly bowed his head and said.

‘Your Majesty!’

Was he looking for me until now?

‘Sambong’s [Jeong Do-jeon’s pen name] death was truly a matter of fate and the strictness of heavenly justice, but there is no one who can match him in his contribution to the founding of the nation, and the phrases he wrote to name and praise the pavilions can be called the writing of a thousand years.

Your Majesty has newly established the Order of National Foundation to re-examine and commend the contributions of the founding of the nation, so it is right to restore Jeong Do-jeon’s honors and bestow a posthumous title.’

Although he is still officially a criminal, he meant to ‘bestow grace’ and restore his merits.

Fortunately, it seems that it was only his eyes that were failing, not his mind.

I pretended to carefully consider Seong Seok-rin’s words.

‘The old minister is right. It is right to evaluate merit as merit and fault as fault, so do as you have requested.’

I ordered, recalling the stain on the family photo in my room.

Elder, I kept my promise.

* * *

‘You made a decision in a rush without even asking for my opinion.’

Yi Bang-won said, tapping his knees.

It was obvious that if I took one side in this family feud, the other side would be upset, so I simply avoided asking.

However, I couldn’t voice these thoughts directly.

‘You told me to accept even the descendants of loyal subjects of Goryeo as family, so I didn’t think you would object.’

‘You rascal!’

Yi Bang-won tapped me with the cane he was holding.

‘Ouch!’

‘It seems I’ve become an old man confined to the back room. Among those who opposed, there wasn’t even one who came running to me and clinging to me. Alas, power is fleeting.’

‘That’s a good thing. If there were guys who went to the retired king, there would have been a mass funeral that day.’

Yi Bang-won nodded at my words and replied.

‘That’s right. It means that their master is not listening to their words and is trying to conspire with the wrong people. Such guys should be neatly hanged and sent to the afterlife.’

Yi Bang-won seemed to be lost in thought at the word afterlife, which he had uttered unintentionally.

He tapped the ground with his cane and continued.

‘……Still, I’ll have something to say to the traitors when I go to the afterlife. I’ll tell them that my son restored your posthumous titles.’

‘Actually, that’s why I’m restoring them in advance.’

‘You don’t concede a single point, you nasty guy.’

Yi Bang-won lamented while glaring at me.

My heart was filled with pride at the praise.

Yi Bang-won seemed to want to relieve the stress he received from his son, so he asked about his grandson.

Yi Bang-won initially tried to accompany the Crown Prince when he left for the north, but where could an old man in poor health go?

I dissuaded him and barely convinced him to stay in Hanyang [present-day Seoul].

‘Is the Crown Prince doing well?’

‘Yes. He went as far as Guju and is returning without any problems.’

‘That can’t be. The Crown Prince is so reckless, isn’t he hiding something from you?’

‘Oh, come on.’

If something had happened, I would have heard about it long ago.

However, the only stories I received were about him meeting some influential figures in Dongbuk-myeon [Northeast Commandery] and holding a feast, inspecting the mines in Dancheon, and receiving audiences from the Jurchen people.

All of them were things that Yi Seong-gye and I used to do in the north as part of our inspection of public sentiment.

It reminds me of those days.

The tiger skin I caught there is still carefully stored in the warehouse.

‘I also kept quiet about the accidents I caused in the north back then, but could it be……?’

I wore a subtle expression.

However, there was no time to dwell on suspicions about what Dan was actually doing.

‘The Japanese shogun, Minamoto Yoshikazu, has died!’

‘Is that true?’

Just in time, the news of Shogun Ashikaga Yoshikazu’s death arrived from afar.

‘I heard that the shogun was still young? Aren’t you mistaking him for his father?’

‘The tribute ship from Japan that came through Byeongnando [an island used for diplomacy] confirmed the fact. There is no mistake.’

Since the shogunate sent a condolence mission when Jeongjong passed away, we should also send condolences.

I was busy organizing a condolence mission and discussing diplomatic issues to be addressed concurrently.

However, that was not the only reason.

Soon, a much more important matter than sending condolences to a short-lived shogun was conveyed through a secret channel.

‘Your Majesty. I am sorry to bother you while you are busy, but there is something you need to check urgently.’

‘What is it?’

I unfolded the note that Wang Ho had folded small and handed to me.

‘…….’

I closed my eyes once and opened them again, then ordered No-bun, who was glancing at the note next to me.

‘Go and bring the Queen Consort.’

‘Yes, Your Majesty!’

As No-bun walked away with hurried steps, I turned my gaze back to the note.

Only four characters were written there.

– The Emperor is dying.

The life of the Hongxi Emperor is in imminent danger.